TURKEY > Fenerbahçe close to signing Turk at Real Madrid

Yevhen Konoplyanka (r) of Ukraine and Hamit Altintop of Turkey vie for the ball during the international friendly soccer match Ukraine vs Turkey at Audi Sportpark in Ingolstadt, Germany, 5 June 2012. EPA/MARC MUELLER

Turkish football team Fenerbahçe is in the advanced stages of completing the signing of Real Madrid's German-born Turkish international Hamit Altıntop, daily Hürriyet has reported.

Hamit's wage demand of 4 million euros a year had created a stumbling block for the Turkish giants, but an alternate formula to convince the player to come to Fenerbahçe has reportedly been reached in which the midfielder will be paid 2.8 million euros a season in addition to a 2.5 million-euro signing bonus.

Samsunspor’s Nigerian forward Simon Zenke, a close friend of Hamit, confirmed the rumors that the Turkish international was set to return to the country of his parents via Twitter, but Fenerbahçe has yet to make an official statement on the matter.